Press Release: FilmRise has acquired North America home media rights from Gravitas Ventures for the hit Sundance documentary-horror hybrid The Nightmare, a terrifying examination of the mysterious phenomenon known as sleep paralysis. The Brooklyn-based distributor will release the film on DVD and Blu-ray on August 4, 2015.
In The Nightmare filmmaker Rodney Ascher – who previously helmed the acclaimed Room 237 – combines captivating interviews, otherworldly bedtime re-creations and heart-stopping scare tactics to explore sleep paralysis, a condition between wakefulness and sleep in which the victim is conscious of his or her surroundings but completely immobilized. The film terrified audiences at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where it was hailed as “one of the scariest documentaries ever” (Eric Kohn, IndieWire). Variety’s Justin Chang described the film as “a unique hybrid of documentary and horror-thriller… playful, visually inventive… Ascher has pulled off something uniquely impressive.”
Gravitas Ventures will release The Nightmare in select theaters and on Video on Demand platforms beginning June 5, 2015. The film was produced by Campfire and Zipper Bros Films. “The Nightmare is without a doubt one of the most terrifying and original films of the year, and we are thrilled to be releasing it on DVD and Blu-ray after the incredible buzz it received at Sundance,” said FilmRise CEO Danny Fisher. “The film defies genre boundaries and will frighten and fascinate audiences of all sorts.”
“Rodney Ascher has proven again that he is one of the most innovative documentarians working today,” said Julie Candelaria, Vice President of Marketing, Gravitas Ventures. “We’re very excited to have FilmRise distributing the film on DVD and Blu-ray so that an even wider audience can experience The Nightmare.”
